advertisement

Batavia runs past Elgin

It didn't take long for Batavia's football team to break in its new artificial turf playing field Friday night.

Try all of 5 seconds.

Senior Matt Huizenga raced 92 yards with the opening kickoff to set the tone for the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0), who scored on all 6 of their first-half possessions on the way to a 48-0 Upstate Eight Conference River Division triumph over Elgin (0-4, 0-1) in Batavia.

"It was kind of a high kick," said Huizenga. "When I looked down, I saw Dana (Anderson) and Connor (Oroni) make beautiful pancake blocks. There was a big hole to the left so I just took advantage."

"It was exciting," said Bulldogs coach Dennis Piron, whose team has now won 34 consecutive UEC River contests dating back to 2010. "I'm very happy with the way we came out and exploded down there."

Junior tailback Reggie Phillips scored on a 6-yard touchdown run to cap a 64-yard drive, highlighted by a 50-yard pass play from quarterback Riley Cooper to wide receiver Thomas Stuttle (2 receptions, 73 yards) to make it 14-0.

Following an interception by homecoming king/senior linebacker Johnny Walsh, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 20-0 on Huizenga's 13-yard TD run with 4:51 left in the first quarter.

Luke Golson's diving fingertip interception helped set up Phillips' 13-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter. The 2-point pass from Cooper to Eric Peterson gave the Bulldogs a 28-0 cushion.

A pair of blocked punts by versatile senior Jake Robinson set the stage for the Bulldogs' last 2 touchdowns of the first half - a 24-yard pass from Cooper to Stuttle, and a 24-yard pass from Ben Weerts to Huizenga - his third TD of the game.

"Huizenga is a special athlete," said Piron. "I'm enjoying what he does and what he brings to the table but more importantly, what he does as a senior. He has gotten better every single week. I'm excited about what he's going to do down the stretch."

Junior Jeremiah Evers (5 carries, 65 yards) capped the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown reception from Weerts with 11:52 remaining.

Led by sophomore linebacker Michael Jansey, junior linebacker/defensive back Michael Niemiec, senior defensive lineman Conner Stejskal, Robinson and Walsh, the Bulldogs' defense limited the Maroons to 18 yards of total offense.

"I'm real pleased with what the kids have done and where we're at," said Piron, who was inducted into the Bulldogs' Hall of Honor Thursday night. "I'm thrilled. It has been a long week. I'm kind of glad to get it over with but it's very nice."

Junior tailback Dae'Vion Arthur was Elgin's top ball carrier with 28 yards.

"We had some discipline issues coming into the game and I think that kind of defeated them," said Maroons coach Anthony Mason. "That's a good team (Batavia). You get to play a lot of good teams in our conference."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.